Pokemon: Maxwell's Journey
by Icefang35
Summary: The main character going through his life with Pokemon... but a surprise awaits him and his friends at every corner. How will they become the best of the best, with all of these obstacles in their way?
1. Goodbye, Lumbar Town!

**Pokémon: Maxwell's Journey**

The alarm clock blared loudly in my ears. _Great_, I thought. _Stupid thing_. Wearily, I got up and turned it off. It's seven o'clock in the morning on the day of my tenth birthday.

Today was the day I got my first Pokémon.

As I remembered this, I got up and went straight to my dresser and picked out the days clothes. Where I live, it's warm all year with some rain showers. I got out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It was dark black with the word _DETERMINATION _in small, red letters across where my chest would be.

I quickly put on my clothes, ate breakfast, and brushed my teeth. I then headed out the door.

I live in a very small town in the Unova region called Lumbar Town. It's just a mile west of Castelia City, but no one ever sees the dirt path leading to it (They call it Route Zero). Lumbar Town doesn't really have a purpose, except for providing shelter. There aren't any businesses or major stores there.

My bike was propped us on the house, where I had left it the day before. My friends Ludwig and Grace and I had went to Castelia City to sell some berries to the PokéMart. My mom grows Cheri Berries, Grace's mom grows Pecha Berries, and Ludwig's mom grows Oran Berries. Sometimes we would eat a few of them along the way while sharing with each other.

I put my left leg over the bike so I was standing over it. Before I could take off, I heard my name being called. I turned around to see my mom running around the side of the house.

"Maxwell," She started to say. I got off my bike and hugged her. She squeezed me tight. I don't know what it is about her, but since I'm an only child, she can't seem to put her finger on the fact that I'm growing up.

"I love you, baby." She finished. My mom likes to call me either Maxwell (never just Max) or baby. They both work fine with me. "I know you do, Mom. I'll promise to be safe, and I'll contact you every now and then on my journey. Are- Are you going to be okay here?" I asked. She nodded, but kept me in a tight squeeze. After a short pause, she sniffled once and held me out in front of her.

"You just worry about you, baby. Although you might want to add Grace and Ludwig in your priorities. Are _you _going to be alright?" She put all of her sweet love and affection into one warming smile when she was done talking. It made me feel cozy inside.

"I'll be fine, Mom." I said. Then I added, "Where's Dad?" Her smile faded. That's never good. "I know he said he would make it here, but on the way back from his trip, his airplane got caught in a bad blizzard. He somehow found reception and called me last night to tell me this." My mom answered quickly, as to avoid ruining the moment. "Oh," Is all I responded. It's not my dad's fault he isn't here. I can't blame him for trying.

"Well," My mom said. "I'll be here if you ever need me." She smiled again. "Good luck to you and your friends!" She then turned back around, went to the front side of the house and entered through the door. I smiled to myself and got back on my bike. I love my mom, and when she says she's alright, her brain tells her she's alright.

Grace, Ludwig and I made an agreement a couple of years ago when we were all eight years old. We said that we would all get our very first Pokémon at the same time. Since I am the youngest, they both had to wait a month or two before I was old enough to have a Pokémon License. All three of us just found out two weeks ago that my birthday was coincidentally on the same day as the famous Pokémon Beginner Trainer's Convention (PBTC). The PBTC happens only once a year, each time in a different place. Only sixteen people get into it, and for a special reason. The PBTC provides sixteen Pokémon, one to each trainer. Those Pokémon are the three starters from each of the five regions, Pikachu. Pikachu was included in it about four years ago when Ash Ketchum became the Pokémon Master.

This year, the PBTC happened to be in Castelia City. As I was riding on my bike, I took one last look at the town before I left it until… well… who knows when. When I was approaching the edge of the town, I could see that both Ludwig and Grace were already at the exiting path, Route Zero. Waiting for me on their bicycles.

"Hurry up," I could hear Ludwig complain. He's light-skinned with curly, light brown hair that barely comes down to the middle of his forehead. I rolled my eyes. Typical, impatient Luddy (Grace and I call him that as a nickname). Grace scowled at him and told him to shut up for once. She has long, black hair that she tied up in a ponytail. Her eyes are a brilliant shade of dark green. Ludwig laughed as if her words were just a big joke.

"Hi, guys!" I said as my bike came to a halt in front of them. "Hey," They replied simultaneously. "Got caught up with your parents?" Luddy asked. "Yeah." I answered. "My mom was a little worried."

"What about your dad?" Grace chimed in. her dad died in a car accident, and ever since then she has been concerned about everyone else's dads. "He, um, got stuck in a blizzard and couldn't make it back here today." I said. She gave me a look of pity and despair. "I hope he's okay." Grace muttered.

Ludwig looked as if he might spontaneously combust. "Alright, alright. We all feel bad for Max's dad. Can we go now?" he was on his bike again and ready to race to the city. I laughed. "Nice rhyming. And yeah, I don't want to be late for the PBTC!" I told him. Luddy's face relaxed as he sighed with relief. It then tensed back up again. "Last on there is a rotten trainer!" He shouted as he took off. Grace and I looked at each other and laughed. "We better get going," She said as she hopped on her bike and took off. That's what I love about those two; they are always energetic and looking for competition.

I started pedaling on my blue bike as fast as I could. After all, I don't want to be the rotten trainer.


	2. The Pokemon Beginner Trainers Convention

Here's how we made it into the PBTC; we are awesome. Out of more than one thousand people, the three of us got in somehow. The flier said you had to write a paragraph about why you should be able to go to the PBTC. Grace and I don't know how Ludwig got in, because he can barely sit in one place for a minute to do anything. His mother even said he sleepwalks around the house the whole night. Whatever, though.

The three of us swore on each other's graves to never tell anyone who the rotten trainer was (It was Luddy), and that it didn't matter anyways. We chained our bicycles to the bike rack in front of the Pokémon Center, where the PBTC was being held.

Grace, Luddy and I walked in to see that all of the other trainers were there, even though we were a half-hour early. A strange old man burst through the crowd of ten year olds to greet us. "Ah! Good morning to the three of you!" He said as he courteously shook our hand. "My name is Professor Samuel Oak. I will be your host for today's convention." He smiled. My eyes widened. "You're _the _Professor Oak? The one who gave Mr. Ketchum his first Pokémon?" I had to ask. "The one and only," He answered. "Please excuse me, but I should start up the convention." The professor took a small bow and headed behind the nurse's desk.

"Greetings to you all." He announced. The room went quiet. "As you know, I am Professor Oak. I am proud to present to you, the Pokémon Beginner Trainer's Convention!" There was a round of applause. "Now, each of you gets one Pokémon to begin your adventure with, but the question is which one do you choose?" said Professor Oak. I had totally forgotten to pick one ahead of time.

"Here's how it works: I will give you three slips of paper. Your job is to write your name on them. The Pokémon will be given off by a randomized drawing, and these name slips are what you enter in the drawing. Also, keep in mind that you can enter in a drawing multiple time. If you win more than one Pokémon, I will let you choose which one you want. Got that?" No one had any questions. "Good," He sighed with relief. "You have five minutes to put your name on the cards and enter them in the drawings. I _will_ know if you cheated by putting someone else's name on the cards. Your time starts… now!"

Grace, Luddy and I had a plan figured out before you came. I would get a fire type, Ludwig would get a grass type, and Grace would get a water type. That way, one of us is another's weakness. No one would get Pikachu.

I wrote down my full name on all three cards, then headed to the section with the fire types. My options were Chimchar, Torchic, Cyndaquil, Charmander, and Tepig. Who to pick? I had no idea. I decided to use my smarts instead of my instincts. I don't necessarily like pigs or monkeys, so that leaves me with Torchic, Cyndaquil, and Charmander. I could put one slip in each drawing, but that lowers my chances of getting one of them. Next, I looked at the amount of name slip already in each jar. It has been two minutes, and Cyndaquil's jar was fuller than Charmander's and Torchic's combined. Those two are now my options. Being wise, I put two slips in Torchic's jar and one in Charmander's. that way, if I didn't get one, I could try and get the other.

I met Grace and Luddy next to the center drawing table with Pikachu's name on it. The jar was already three-quarter's full of paper. "I guess a lot of people want to follow in Ash's footsteps," grace whispered. Ludwig and I agreed. Wouldn't it be cool to own the Pokémon that the Pokémon Master has for a best friend and a partner.

Pikachu's jar filled slowly to the top, until they put all of its containments into a large bowl.

"Time's up!" Professor Oak exclaimed. The jars (and bowl) were moved up to the nurse's counter. Everyone gathered around. "Now," Professor Oak started. "Nurse Joy here will draw from the jars one by one. She will start with grass types, move to water types, then fire types, and last but definitely not least, Pikachu. Once all of the names are drawn, there will by any re-drawings in case someone wins multiple Pokémon.

Nurse Joy, who had been watching peacefully with her Chansey in the corner, now stepped up and reached her hand into the jar labeled _Chicorita_. She took out a slip, unfolded it, and read the name. "La'Quisha Wright," Nurse Joy said in her soft, quiet voice. A girl to my left slowly raised her hand. Nurse Joy beckoned her over and positioned La'Quisha so she was in front of Chicorita's jar, facing the rest of us.

This process occurred for the rest of the convention. Luddy apparently put all three of his name slips in Snivy's jar, and succeeded in getting one. Grace had spread her chances out. One slip in Squirtle's jar, another in Totodile's, and the last one in Mudkip's. She was one of the only two name slips in Totodile's jar, and won it as well as Mudkip. She decided to go with Totodile.

Finally, it came down to the fire type Pokémon and Pikachu. Chimchar's jar was drawn out of first. Next was Torchic's. I crossed my fingers. The name was called… but it wasn't mine. I lost Torchic to a guy named Gilbert O'Lee. The third drawing was for Tepig. The fourth was for Charmander. This time, I crossed my fingers and toes, closed my eyes and prayed to Kyurem I got this Pokémon.

Nurse Joy took out a name slip. She unfolded it and read the name. But the name was not Maxwell Edward Bishop.

It was Gilbert O'Lee.

Angry at myself for no reason, my eyes started to tear up as I plopped on the floor. I couldn't think straight. All I know was that I had to go through re-drawings with the Pokémon other people didn't want.

"I want to stick with Torchic," said a deep voice. It belonged to Gilbert.

I had completely forgotten Gilbert was chosen for two Pokémon. If he picked Torchic, though, that meant…

I picked myself off the floor. I still have a chance at Charmander! My face lit up like a Christmas tree as I wiped away the tears that started to fall down my face. I can still get a Pokémon I want!

Cyndaquil's owner was chosen, and soon after the room fell dead silent. It was time for the final drawing; for Pikachu. Nurse Joy slowly stirred the paper in the bowl with her hand. Even though Ludwig, Grace and I didn't enter ourselves in the drawing, we were still eager to find out who the winner was.

Nurse Joy picked up an intricately folded name slip and opened it up. She looked at the name. After five seconds she became puzzled, and five seconds after that she became pale white. She hesitated, then trembled out the name. "…O…"

No one knew what she meant at first. A little boy stepped in front of Pikachu's drawing bowl. He had on a hat that covered his face and eyes. His hair was a creamy white color, which came down and touched the bottom of his shirt. The boy was shorter than me, but he had a mature and mystical look to him.

Professor oak was even confused. I had no idea what to think of it. Others were muttering about why he was called by the name "O", or why his name would be so odd. I thought about the alphabet for a minute. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O – wait. If "O" is the boy's name, and the letter before O is…

The whole concept caught on like a disease. All of the puzzled faces slowly turned as white as Nurse Joy's, including mine. We all stared at the boy as he lowered his head a little more.

The boy named "O" is N's son.


	3. A Starter and a New Friend

Three minutes has passed before Professor Oak broke the silence. "Okay," he said. "Let's give a big round of applause to the winner of Pikachu… I give you O!"

The room stayed quiet. I couldn't take it anymore. No one should be judged because of what their father did. I started clapping, and urged Ludwig and Grace to do so as well. It caught on, and soon everyone was clapping. Blaming someone for something they haven't done (yet) is wrong.

"Now, we have three Pokémon left for re-drawings. You three –" Professor Oak pointed to the three of us not in front of a jar "–you get to enter your names in the drawings again, or you can decide amongst yourselves who gets what Pokémon. Your choices are Oshawott, Mudkip, and Charmander. I will give you two minutes to decide." He gave us each two name slips.

I looked over at my two peers, who seemed to already know which Pokémon they had their hearts set on. "Dibs on Mudkip!" the girl said to us. "Fine by me." I replied. "Ditto," nodded the boy. She ran up and stood in front of Mudkip's drawing jar. She seemed pretty excited. I looked at the boy. "Can I have Charmander?" I asked him weakly. "Yeah. I've been studying Oshawott for a while, and the Pokémon seems perfect for me." He smiled. I thanked him gratefully and we both stood in front of our designated jars.

I am going to get a Charmander! Excited and still awe-stricken by O, this day was (and still is) a bizarre one. Professor Oak and Nurse Joy passed out the Pokéballs, one to each trainer. They instructed not to open them yet. When I got mine, it felt warm and almost hummed with energy.

Soon after I got the Pokéball, a Pokédex followed. The thing was the same reddish color as the Pokéball containing Charmander. I'll have to put a cover on it later.

Professor Oak cleared his throat. "Now, I will give you some bonding time with your new Pokémon. Once you have tamed it to like you and accept you, add its information to your Pokédex. After that, fill up your Pokédex with each other's Pokémon. Save practicing your Pokémon's moves until later." Professor Oak took a short pause. "You may release your Pokémon."

I threw my Pokéball into the air. It stopped, opened up, and spit out a white stream of light before returning to my hand. The light materialized into a Charmander. It blinked several times, then looked me dead in the eye.

My adrenaline kicked in. "Well hello there," I said to it. The Charmander cocked its head sideways. "Char char?" he asked. Somehow, my brain transferred what he said into English. "My name is Maxwell." I answered him. Charmander smiled and said, "Charmander! Char char char!" _Nice to meet you to, Maxie! _"Nice to meet you too, buddy. I am your new best friend."

Our conversation went back and forth, with him mostly asking all the questions and telling me about himself. I added his data to the Pokédex, and we walked around to meet other trainers. Ludwig's Snivy was teaching him how to be calm and at peace, but you could tell his hyperactive nature made it hard for him to do and yoga. Grace and Totodile were deep in a conversation about how water pollution can affect water Pokémon and their environment (The Totodile seemed to be just as smart as Gracey was). The other trainers were just having fun and mingling. When I walked up to O, he lowered the brim of his hat a little.

"I don't bite," I soothed. It appears that I am the first person to talk to him all day (This is surprising, because I was not the first person to approach him). I could see his cheeks blush as I knelt down in front of him. "I don't judge you because of your father." What I said was harsh, but it made him look up from my feet to my chest. O had a little trouble with his words. "Th-then y-you'd be the f-first," he stuttered. I smiled. At least he's talking to me. "Would you like to scan my Charmander?" I asked and wavered toward the Pokémon standing to my right. O aimed the Pokédex he had in his hand at it and gathered its data. I did the same with his Pikachu. Then I noticed its tail was bowed at the end to create a heart shape.

"Your Pikachu's a girl?" I said astonishingly. O nodded and blushed hard.

Oops. Bad mistake.

"I… think that's pretty cool," I stumbled, taken aback. "You really think so?" O was staring me down with a hint of eagerness. I was like he was trying to read my thoughts. The boy's eyes were practically sparkling. They were a neat, misty blue color.

"Yes. And you know what? I think _she _will grow strong one day." This made O grin, which was a first for me. "You're the best!" he shouted. "What's your name?" Befriending him seemed safe. O appears to be a good kid. "Maxwell," I answered, smiling back at him. "I'm guessing you know mine," O mumbled.

What was I supposed to say after that?

"I'll see you around. Good luck with your Pikachu!" I commented. "Same to you and your Charmander," He replied.

I finished visiting people and their Pokémon. Grace and I headed over to Luddy, who had his eyes closed, a straight face, and was sitting pretzel style. He was meditating. When he started saying "Ohm", we doubled over laughing. His eyes shot open. "What's so funny?" Ludwig asked. "You- actually at peace for the first time! Your mom even told me she never felt you stop kicking and punching for two seconds when she was pregnant for you!" Grace was on her butt now, also laughing. Without looking, I could tell we were the main attraction in the Pokémon Center.

Just then, a kid came bursting in with a fainted Pokémon in her hands. "Is he going to be okay?" The girl quivered to Nurse Joy, who was gently picking up the Pokémon. "He'll be fine; you just relax and wait patiently." Nurse Joy responded. She put it on a gurney and rushed it into the back room with her Chansey. The light above the door they entered blinked on.

The whole room was pen-dropping silent. I got up off the floor and walked up to the girl. She was sobbing with her head down on the counter. I rested my hand on her shoulder and turned to the other trainers and Professor Oak. "Carry on now." I said a bit forcefully. It took them all a second to start up conversation again.

"Are you okay?" I asked the girl. She lifted her head slightly and nodded. I waved Grace and Ludwig away, who were about to come over and assist me. They shrugged, turned back around, and started chatting. "What happened?" I asked her softly. The whole story came out between sniffles.

"I was walking through the forest when I saw a Pokémon fly out of a tree and land in front of me. It was looking the other way and didn't see me. Slowly, I tried to creep up on it, but the thing heard me d started flying up the path. I ran and chased it, because I really wanted to have it. Later, I found out it was a Pidgey. Anyways, about a minute into the pursuit, two teenagers, a boy and a girl, popped out from under the brush. They were wearing matching white suits that had the letter D on the front." The girl took a moment to reenact the scene.

Hmm… what does "D" stand for? And what is a Pidgey doing in the Unova region?

"Hey, by the way, I'm Maxwell. What's your name?" I asked. She looked me in the eyes and studied them. "Marie," she answered, then let another tear run down her cheek.

"So anyways… what happened next?" I inquired. Marie let out one last, big sniffle. "Right. So, the teenagers just ignored me at the time. They had weapons that shot out electrical webs and aimed them at the Pidgey. It glided swiftly and avoided them, making the teens run after it. Now, being me, I knew this bird was special somehow. I wasn't going to let it get away.

"I chased after them, trying to stay silent so I wasn't the one getting hit with electrical traps. They were small so the guns could hold lots of them, but they were deadly. The balls at the ends of the webs stuck to anything. The duo kept shooting and missing, and I eventually caught up to them and passed them. The boy yelled, 'Hey little girl! Get out of here!' but I didn't listen. Since the Pidgey was tired and warn out, I ran up to it with ease and tried to pull it into my hands. The poor thing squawked and wriggled at first but it then realized I wasn't out to get him. He let me carry him for five seconds until the teens started shooting at me with those webs." I shuddered at the fact of thinking about getting hit by an electrical web.

"The Pidgey got out of my grip and tried to fly again. It fell behind me, though, and the teens caught up to it. The girl said, 'It's time for you to get back in your testing cage!' and took out a metal bat. She then smacked the bird in the wing with it. You could tell she was getting angry and impatient with it before she hit it. The boy almost caught it on its way to the ground, but I was too fast and scooped the Pidgey up as I ran in the opposite direction. Stunned, the two took a split second to recover and re-pump their guns. From there, I outran them and came straight here. I-I thought he was -"

Dead. That's what she might still think.

Marie started crying again. This was too much for a ten year old to handle (Yeah, I can tell when someone is my age). I patted her on the back and tried to calm her down.

I looked at Professor Oak, who was watching us. When he saw me looking at him, he turned away quickly and concentrated on something else. He told everyone to just socialize after collecting Pokédex data. I'm glad he understood.

There was one question on my mind that I had to ask Marie, besides that the teens abused the Pidgey like that. "Are you old enough to own a Pokémon license?" I asked. She answered, "Yes, I already have one". That got me thinking… she might want to travel with Luddy, Grace and I, if I can get them to agree. The sixteen trainers here (Including us) took their license test and passed with hundreds of others three months before it happened. That was part of how you were picked to get in.

Before I got the chance to walk across the room to ask them, however, there was a strange thump.

And then the light above the medical door shut off.


End file.
